After letting the remaining steam out of his system, complaining about both Macaque and his younger self, Monkey's been quite pensive as our two protagonists were approaching a large city in the distance.
"Hey," he finally said, making the both of them stop walking. "about what you said earlier, about how you wanna follow Tripitaka's footsteps to try and reach enlightenment."
"Ah, uh..." (Y/n) looked to the side, a bit embarrassed, and waved her hand. "Forget it, it's whatever-"
"No, hold on." he raised a hand. "If doing that is what you wanna do, go ahead, I won't stop you. But I just want you to understand..." his gaze wandered for a second, trying to find the words. "Tripitaka...didn't have a fun life. Everything had to be a lesson of morality *to* him, or *from* him. He never played games - sometimes I had to force him to just play chess -"
'Geez, even my father was looser than this.'
"-never partied, all of it to keep his mind focused on his pilgrimage. He literally was not allowed to have fun."
(Y/n) thought for a moment before frowning slightly.
"What are you trying to do?" she folded her arms. "Are you trying to talk me out of this because, what, I won't be fun so you won't like me anymore?"
"What? No! I'll love you forever!"
She blushed, not expecting that. He continued.
"I just want you to know what you're getting yourself into. So knowing that," he took a step closer. "are you sure you want to try and follow his footsteps?"
She looked down, pursuing her lips. She remembered what Tripitaka said about giving up on the physical world, and despite what she said and believed...
'I want to be able to help. I don't want to be someone who has to be protected.'
"I can't just rely on powers that are emotion-activated. And I don't think I can find a way to channel..." she looked down at her hand. "whatever that was."
"There may, you don't know."
"It's not like Tripitaka's book could teach me anything about glowing fists that give you super strength! Going with the other more certain option? Yeah I'm sure!"
He blinked twice, there was more frustration in her voice that he expected. She let out a little 'ah', as if she noticed it too, and glanced to the side. He sighed through his nose.
"Okay then." he nodded.
He kept walking, his hands behind his head. For a moment, (Y/n) was afraid she upset him, but then he spoke again.
"And now that I think about it, if you do reach enlightenment, then you'll become immortal. I'm fine with that."
"Immortal?!" she exclaimed, following him.
He laughed.
"Got a problem with that?"
"N-nothing, I guess. It's just...weird to imagine."
"You get used to it."
Her gaze wandered, thinking.
"Say, how does it feel being immortal?"
"Just another reason as to why I'm amazing." he smiled.
"No but, how is it different from a mortal life?"
He thought for a moment.
"To me, not much. It's just one very long life - Like think about it:" he looked at her as he tapped his temple. "As long as you don't die, you're technically immortal. It's pretty much the same."
(Y/n) frowned, trying to understand his logic. He chuckled.
"Bit of Wukong wisdom for ya."
"I don't think-" she sighed with a smile, thinking this wasn't arguing about.
'Plus, I wouldn't want to be a downer again.'
As they kept walking, she looked at her open hand again, her smile fading.
'It's not like I want to do this. If I could find another way to channel my powers without having to give up everything I like then...'
She sighed again, readjusting the bag on her shoulders.
.
"Woah!" she exclaimed once they were at the city's entrance. "This is much larger than I thought it was!"
Monkey, turned into his human form, chuckled. As soon as they stepped through the gates however, he turned back to his demon form. (Y/n) gasped.
"Wha-?!" he looked at himself. "What the hell?!"
He was then surrounded by guards and she immediately tried to step in and explain that he didn't mean any harm. And they actually did leave them alone.
"You must be new here so you don't know." one of them explained and pointed at the gate, it was ornamented with crystals which, on further inspection, were charged with power. "The local shamans have put these all around the city a while ago, with these, no demon or human can turn into anything for more than half-an-hour. It's a safety precaution."
"Oh~ I see!" she nodded.
"Man, humans are getting clever with that stuff." Monkey said as he looked closer at them.
After this little scare, our two protagonists walked through the city. At first they were planning to just ration their food and take a short break but it quickly changed to them exploring the place. Everything was so modern. Tall buildings with large boxes on the side going up and down. Merchants and other artisans were working on their crafts using methods and machinery they've never seen before. The streets were divided to make way for big carriages, transporting up to fifteen people. Of course they hopped on one of them.
"So you're going around the city all day so people can reach their destination?!" (Y/n) asked the coach.
"That's pretty much it, yes." they nodded.
Her eyes widen. In her village, you could walk around the whole place in a short hour. Monkey laughed at her look of disbelief. They decided to stay on this carriage to see all of the city. It had different districts which seemed to have their own specialties: metal work, food, schools, all of them working like clockwork (whatever that meant). It seemed that, whatever you were looking for, you could very probably find it here. Our two protagonists were very impressed.
"Thief! Thief!" a woman cried.
They looked over just as the carriage passed by a man running away with a pink, expensive-looking bag.
"Hey!" (Y/n) shouted as Monkey jumped off the carriage to run after him.
She wanted to do the same, but given the carriage's speed, she had to be more careful. Monkey dashed through the street, dodging every item the thief would throw at him to try and stop him. Though when he pushed children, Monkey had to catch them before they fall and hurt themselves. He clicked his tongue as he watched the thief gaining ground and laughing. Fortunately, because he wasn't watching where he was going, he bumped into someone and the two of them fell down. The thief shook his head and looked up to see a young man wearing a grey-ish green scholar hanfu, he looked confused.
"Don't let him get away!" Monkey shouted as he ran up to them.
The young scholar then noticed the bag that clearly didn't belong to the man given its color. The two men quickly stood up, but before the thief could run away, he hit him in a couple of spots, making him froze and fall on the ground. Monkey watched with a dropped jaw. (Y/n) caught up to them just as this happened and she was just as shocked. There were gasps from the people around them, and whispers about the young man being from 'Guangfu Xue'. He took the bag and walked up to them.
"This is yours I presume." he handed (Y/n) the bag.
"Huh? Oh, no actually, it belongs to a lady up the street- But nevermind that! Is he okay?!" she leaned to the side to look at the thief, motionless on the ground. "Is he dead?!"
"Nah, just unconscious." Monkey said. "The real question is what the hell was that?!" he gestured towards the thief then at the scholar. "You're just a human! How did you do that?!"
The scholar blinked twice, confused for a moment, before smiling.
"Ah, yes. This is a fairly new thing after all. I used chi blocking."
"Chi blocking?" (Y/n) repeated, her and Monkey frowning slightly.
He nodded.
"My name is Cheng Liu, I go to Guangfu Xue on the South side of the city. A prestigious school known for teaching various subjects you wouldn't usually found anywhere else, a school for people who wish to learn the unlearnable."
Our two protagonists shared a glance. He continued.
"Around fifty years ago, a new practice has been added to the available classes. You see my teachers' teachers discovered that the pressure points used in acuponcture, where the chi flows, could also be used to incapacitate someone as well as cure them, depending on which point you block. So this chi blocking art can be used for self-defense. Don't worry though, he should be able to move again in an hour or so."
(Y/n)'s eyes slowly widen in wonder as he spoke, a little spark in them.
"Does it work on demons?"
Monkey looked at her, with an idea of why she asked that question. Cheng Liu thought for a moment.
"I'm sure it does, as long as you know where their pressure points are."
"Pfff, not on me." Monkey waved a hand. "Once, a human tried to stab me, the knife broke. You really think your tiny little fingers are any match?"
"I'm pretty sure they are yes." he nodded, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Heh!" he smirked. "Let's test it out shall we."
The young man hit him on the same spots as the thief, but Monkey was still standing. He cackled at his dumbfounded look.
"I am as tough as a mountain made out of metal!" he flexed his arms, puffing his chest.
"You got your arm cut off." (Y/n) said.
He glared at her before looking away, huffing.
"That's only because the only thing that could cut through me is like a power-charged weapon."
At these words, (Y/n) looked at her hand. She had an idea, and her mind was racing over it.
"Where is this school?" she leaned closer to Cheng Liu. "Could you take us there? Please!"
"Uh, what?"
.
And just like that, with the young scholar guiding them, our two protagonists went to Guanfu Xue, on the South side of the city. There were a lot of schools in these parts but this one was the largest one. All the students and teachers there were wearing light grey-ish green hanfus. While Monkey was only slightly curious, (Y/n) kept looking around, asking questions, she even requested to speak to the principal of the school. Cheng Liu seemed a bit overwhelmed by this, but he still accepted.
"Please let me in the chi blocking class!" she joined her hands together and bowed to the principal.
"What?!" the three men in the room looked at her with big eyes.
"I thought you were just gonna ask to borrow a book or something!" Monkey exclaimed.
"And I thought she going to ask for *you* to join." the young scholar pointed at him.
"Ew, why would I want that?" he quietly said, giving him a weird glance.
"Also, you can't borrow books from the school if you're not part of the school."
"Exactly!" she gestured towards him before facing the principal again. "I know I've never been to a prestigious school before but I promise to work my butt off!"
The principal slowly shook his head.
"Ma'am, if you haven't noticed, this is a *boys* only school."
"I used to be in a boys only school in my villa-"
"Listen, maybe the rules are more lax wherever you're from," he slowly waved a hand towards her, Monkey frowned when he cut her off. "but this is a serious establishment." he tapped his desk with his index. "You can't just take *one* class out of the curriculum."
"Curricu...what?"
He sighed.
"P-please! It would mean the world to me if I learned this technique. This could be a great way to channel my new power!" she turned to look at Monkey. "With it, I won't have to give up the physical world."
"What are you saying woman?" the principal frowned.
"Hey." Monkey stepped up, looking at him with a serious expression. "It's just one class, let her in. If that can help, she is the latest reincarnation of Golden Cicada."
The principal laughed.
"Please, everybody knows the monk Tripitaka is. And he achieved enlightenment a long time ago."
'That is what the stories say.' (Y/n) thought. 'That's what I thought too, until I met Monkey.'
"Well, (Y/n) go ahead. Turn your eyes cyan."
She became tense at this request, with the men's eyes on her, she couldn't concentrate.
"I...It's not something you can just ask me to do on command."
The principal raised an eyebrow. Monkey thought for a quick moment.
"And she's also from a noble family."
"Oh really? Which one?"
Our two protagonists exchanged a look and pursued their lips. It was at this moment that they realized: they didn't even bother to ask for (Y/n)'s blood family's name. And vice-versa, the family didn't bother to tell them their name.
"It's confidential." Monkey looked back at him as he stepped closer to the desk. "But she is traveling with *the* Sun Wukong, Monkey King, Great Sage Equal to Heaven." he pointed at his crown. "Do you think it's a good idea to say no to someone like that?" he leaned closer. "It's just one class. Let her in."
"Is this a threat?" he seemed unimpressed. "You know I could call the authorities on yo-"
"I hate to repeat myself. I am Sun Wukong" he spoke slowly, leaning even closer and making the man leaned back. "Do you think the rules apply to me?"
Now, his back was facing (Y/n) so she couldn't see, but given the look on the principal's face, now pale as a sheet, she figured that Monkey was giving him one scary look. Stuttering, the poor man agreed and Monkey stepped back with a satisfied grin. (Y/n) face lit up and happily filled out the papers she was handed.
"Miss... (Y-, (Y/n)?" the principal read her name with squinted eyebrows, her handwriting was messy.
She nodded.
"Okay." he exhaled. "You'll start class tomorrow, midterm exams are in one month."
"One month?!" she exclaimed. "That's...fine."
"Students are usually given shelter within the school but..." he looked at a few other papers. "I'm afraid we don't have any individual rooms available."
"Oh I can take a common room, that's not a proble-"
"That won't be possible." he said with a stern voice. "That would be inappropriate."
She tilted her head while Monkey frowned.
"Inappropriate...?" she mumbled, confused.
"Don't worry, there are plenty of apartment complexes in the city which I'm sure have available rooms for you. That will be all." he waved a hand without looking at them. "We will see you tomorrow, further formalities are to be done with the front desk."
(Y/n) blinked twice, not sure how to feel about this exchange. But she shook it off and focused on the fact that she got in, she smiled at that thought.
.
"So strong humans and demons are hired to pull these things up and down..." (Y/n) asked one of those demons after the elevator door opened and they saw them standing there holding ropes. "All day?"
"We do get breaks," a cow demon nodded, shrugging his shoulder. "but they're pretty short."
"Do you get paid by the hour? Because we can just take the stairs."
"I apologize, but while you may have the stamina for this, I most certainly do not." the landlady smiled awkwardly.
"Let me try," Monkey offered his hand as him and the two human ladies stepped inside. "looks like a fun workout."
"Heh, say that again after a long day," he smiled and handed him the rope, careful to make sure it was held at all time. "we'll see how fun it is."
"We'll see." he smirked before lifting up the big box by himself like it was nothing, everyone except him almost fell because of the jolt the box made at first.
So our two protagonists were lead to a small apartment, one big room with a kitchen and a living room space, and one bedroom with a large bed.
'I'll sleep on the couch then.' they both thought when they saw it.
For a one month stay, this place was pretty cozy, but then (Y/n) felt a twist in her heart and her wallet when the landlady said the price. Monkey noticed the look on her face and chuckled as he patted her shoulder.
"Ah, could it be..." the landlady looked at Monkey. "Was the dowry her parents gave you not enough?"
"The what?" (Y/n) tilted her head. "My father is dead, and I don't have a mom."
"I don't have parents either." Monkey frowned, also confused.
"Oh my! In that case, I have a deal for young, struggling married couples." she said with a concerned look.
"Wh-what?!?!?!" her face became as red as a tomato.
"Married...?" Monkey whispered, blushing just as intensely, but with a spark in his eyes.
"I know how hard it is to start a new life with your spouse. It's a 70% discount."
"...Not married but," (Y/n) stood beside him and hugged his arm. "we are fiancés."
Both him and the landlady looked at her with big eyes. It took everything Monkey had in him not to scream. His mind replaying her words over and over. (Y/n) felt his arm shaking and her face only got redder, even she couldn't believe she just said that.
"Oh~ fiancés you say. Interesting, congratulations!"
"Yeah thanks!" Monkey exclaimed, way louder than usual.
"When's the marriage?"
'Marriage!!!' they both thought at the same time, feeling differently about the prospect, one was overwhelmed, the other...
"Uh-"
"Soon!" Monkey immediately responded as placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her close to him.
Now that this shocking turned of event settled in his brain, he was more than happy to play the part. (Y/n) looked at him with big eyed before smiling at the landlady.
"A-as soon as we have enough money, yes!"
And just like that, the apartment was their. The landlady showed them out to lock the door from the inside and left them. (Y/n) let herself fall onto the couch and let out a heavy sigh as she closed her eyes, emotionally exhausted. Monkey stood behind the couch and leaned over to look at her with a big smirk.
"Fiancés huh?"
"It's a 70% discount!" she exclaimed, her face getting redder.
He cackled.
"Hey, I'm not complaining." he waved his hands.
.
.
The next day, (Y/n) checked her schedule three times, then she hopped on the big carriage and went to Guanfu Xue for her first chi blocking class. She was obviously very excited and determined to start learning, she even sat in the front of the class. When the bell rang, the teacher walked in, all of the students (including her) stood up and bowed to him. He was an old-looking man with a white beard, but he had the behavior of a middle-aged adult. He stopped in his tracks as soon as he noticed her, he stood there for a few seconds before walking to his desk. Laying his papers on it, he let out a long sigh before looking up and allowing the students to sit back down.
"Some of you are new here." he said with a cold voice. "Some of you think one can simply come here and enter a third year level class, mid-school year, because it's the most 'fun' one. Some of you even choose methods worthy of savages to get in."
Despite referring to her this whole time, only now did he finally glance at her. And he wasn't the only one. (Y/n) felt all of the students staring at her, she could feel their stares on her back. At this moment, she was feeling way less enthusiastic. She gulped, trying not to look down.
"Needless to say, I do not do special treatment." he looked back at the class. "This is Guanfu Xue. If you do not meet the needed requirements to pass any class. You fail all the classes." he sat down. "With that in mind," he exhaled. "let's begin."
As the sound of ruffling papers echoed throughout the room, (Y/n)'s gaze wandered. This little monologue, adding to the stares has left her with an unusual feeling of uneasiness, one she's never felt before.
'No.' she lightly shook her head and mentally slapped herself. 'He simply doesn't know my situation, it's normal he'd think like that.' she opened Tripitaka's notebook to the part where the rest of the pages were blank. 'I just have to show him how serious I am!'
With her determination back, she focused on the lesson, which lasted around two hours. In the first minutes, there was already a huge problem. As the teacher said, it was the middle of the school year, so she couldn't understand anything that he was talking about.
'I'll worry about that later! For now, I'll just write down everything he says.'
After two hours, the bell rang again, and the teacher stepped out, not without glancing at (Y/n) one last time though. She sighed, shaking her aching write, she's never wrote that much before, nor that fast, and because of that, her handwriting was even messier than before. But she could still read herself, and to her that was what mattered. She began gathering her things, just then three students surrounded her.
"Well well well~." a forth one walked up to her, a tall, almost obese young man. "It would seem a little song bird has lost its way." he said with a raised eyebrow.
(Y/n) blink twice and frowned slightly.
"How can a bird get lost? It can fly." she said, oblivious to his attempt at flirting and just thought that this was a poor comparison. "And I'm not lost."
An 'ooo~' echoed throughout the students, the young overweight student stayed composed in the face of this indirect rejection. He cleared his throat.
"You look lost. You're not even wearing the school's uniform." he gestured towards her, up and down.
"They're... They're too expensive." she glanced to the side, embarrassed.
"Too expensive?!"
The students laughed, making her shift uncomfortably in her seat.
"But rumor has it you come from a noble family though!" he leaned a bit closer. "Could it be... Was that a lie?! You naughty~."
Her face twisted in disgust and she stood up.
"Excuse me?!"
"Manshu, that's enough!"
They all looked over to see Cheng Liu walking over. (Y/n) was surprised but relieved to see him, a smile formed on her face. He glared at 'Manshu'.
"Leave her alone."
"Cheng Liu?! You-" he glanced at her, then back at him and clicked his tongue. "Whatever. Just make sure not to cry or anything when the lesson gets hard." he quietly told (Y/n) as he walked passed her, his friends following him.
She sighed, happy that this was over.
"Don't mind him." Cheng Liu walked up to her. "He thinks he can do anything just because he's the number one student here."
"Well, he's a jerk." she stood up after putting her things in her bag. "Thank you for the help."
"No problem, it's natural." he waved a hand, smiling. "Say, if you want, I have my uniform from my first year somewhere in my dorm. It doesn't fit me anymore though, but I'm sure it'd fit you. Uh, don't worry though, all uniforms here look the same."
"Oh that would be amazing! Thank you so much!" her face lit up.
He chuckled and the two of them walked to his dorm together.
"Why didn't you throw it away if you didn't need it anymore?" she asked on the way there.
"Are you kidding? Those are *way* too expensive to throw away just like that!"
They both laughed.
.
'Monkey, please don't get into trouble while I'm gone.' he remembered what (Y/n) told him before leaving as he laid on the couch, feet on the headrest and head upside down.
"A whole month..." he frowned.
Lifting his feet and placing his hands on the floor, he backflipped to stand up and huffed.
"I'll go hang out with the cow demon in the elevator. A good workout's always the best way to pass time."
Before he could even walk to the door, he heard someone knocking. With a hum, he went to see who was at the door. He opened it to see an old lady. She screamed when she saw him, which made him flinch and he almost screamed himself.
"Would you chill lady?!"
"Ah, I'm so sorry." she placed a hand over her heart. "I wasn't expecting the newest tenant to be a demon that's all."
"Who are you?" he frowned, folding his arms and leaning on the doorway. "What do you want?"
"I lived in the apartment beside yours." she pointed to her right. "I heard they were new tenants here and came to welcome you. May I come in-?"
She took a step forward as she asked her question, but Monkey quickly slammed a hand on the other side of the doorway, making her flinch and stop. In reality, he was the scared one here.
'If she steps in, she'll never leave! Don't let her into your home Wukong! She'll probably try to get her grabby wrinkly hands all over your stuff!'
"Actually, no you cannot."
"Oh, do you not live alone?"
"I don't. I'm here with, my future wife." he said those three words slower as he leaned forward a little bit, he couldn't help but smile widely as he said them.
"Oh! Fiancée..." she slowly nodded, there was a pause. "...That's nice. How is she?"
"Oh she is amazing! She doesn't take shit from anyone, but she still has a heart of gold. If she goes to any restaurant, it automatically adds two- wait, three stars to it! She has a mean right hook, she is hilarious to hang with. And not to mention, of course, she is smokin' hot! And, I dunno, she just *is*, you know what I mean?"
At this moment, the old lady regretted knocking at the new tenant's door a little bit. As Monkey went on a tangent, she leaned to the side to try and see what was inside the apartment. Monkey was too busy to notice though. She took the first opportunity to go back to her own apartment, but as her new neighbor left to go in the elevator, she kept an eye out for when he'd return, peeking out in the hallway whenever she'd hear the doors opening. To her surprise, he came back a few hours later with a young human woman, who was carrying a green hanfu and a bag full of books. She took this opportunity to step out.
"I'm just saying," Monkey said. "I could very well just accompany you there. That way you won't have to carry them at all."
"But I want to. I want to be like all the others students, I'm sure I'll get used to it."
"Why hello again!"
Monkey flinched at the sound of the old lady's voice and the young couple stopped and looked over as she walked up to them.
"I've met your fiancé this morning but I don't believe I've had the opportunity to welcome you here."
"Huh? Fiancé-?! Oh wait, right!" (Y/n) quickly looked back at Monkey, as if she just remembered he was there. "I-I'm sorry. This happened pretty recently, I'm still not used to the idea to be quite honest." she scratched her cheek with an embarrassed smile.
The old lady smiled.
"It's okay dear. My name is Wenling, it's nice to meet you." she bowed.
"Oh, I know a Wenling from my village, and she's an elderly too!" she smiled and bowed back. "My name is (Y/n), it's nice to meet you as well."
"Oh my," she laughed. "I hope she is just as nice!"
'The one who tricked us into going to that tea party by faking back pain?' Monkey thought, turning a bit more pale at this scary memory. 'Sure. "Nice" is one way to put it.'
"Dear, may I speak to you in private?" Wenling asked, tugging on (Y/n) sleeve, then she looked at Monkey. "I just want to share some bits of wisdom, from an old widow to a future wife, if that's okay."
"Why are you asking me?" Monkey asked, frowning.
"O-Of course you can Wenling." (Y/n) quickly said, feeling a certain tension between these two, and not wanting things to escalate.
She placed a hand on the lady's shoulders and escorted them further down the hallway. Then she leaned closer. Wenling looked back at Monkey for a moment that was long enough to be awkward before looking back at (Y/n) and whispering:
"Blink twice if you're kidnapped."
"Kidnapped?!"
"Ssssh~!" she waved a hand before looking back at Monkey.
'Oh she's one of *those*.' he thought, able to hear what they're saying with his demon hearing.
"No! No I'm not kidnapped. Why would you think that?"
"You know, it's a common thing with demons to kidnap young women and to force them into marriage."
"Is it? I've never seen that happened before."
"In my days? This kind of thing happened left and right."
"This isn't 'your days' lady!" Monkey exclaimed. "The century has passed already!"
Wenling scoffed.
"Well." she turned to (Y/n) and bowed. "I apologize for the misunderstanding."
"It's alright. But, I think you should apologize to Monkey instead." she gestured towards him.
She sighed, a bit uncomfortable. But eventually, she bowed and apologized to him as well.
"My name is *Sun*, *Wukong* by the way!" he said, articulating every syllable of his name. "Thank you for asking!"
"I wanted to ask," she walked passed him with an haughty look. "but you were too busy monologuing. Good day to you."
He glared at her as he watched her leave.
"Come on. Don't mind her." (Y/n) placed a hand on his arm and gently pulled him to their apartment.
He huffed, but then smiled once they went inside.
"So, what do you wanna do now that you're done for today?"
"Done? I'm far from done!" she said as she put her new uniform on the armchair. "Not that I borrowed the books I needed, I have to catch up on the beginning of the year." she walked passed him. "I'll use the desk in the bedroom to study if you don't mind!"
"Oh, uh, okay? But-"
"You can go and have fun. Go explore the rest of the city!" she smiled, now standing in the bedroom's doorway.
"Will you be okay on your own?"
"Of course. Tell me what you found once you're back." she said before closing the door behind her.
Now alone, Monkey blinked twice.
"Parkour it is then!" he smiled before jumping out the window.
.
.
Monkey was sure he could go around the whole city in one day, but once the sun started to set, he decided to pause on the exploring and go back home. He frowned slightly when he saw that nothing has changed since he left. He went to the bedroom. (Y/n), her back facing him, was at the desk which was covered in books and papers.
"(Y/n)?"
She didn't respond. Frowning more this time, he walked up to her and leaned closer to her face. She had a look of intense focus, and a hand to her forehead.
"(Y/n)!"
"Aaaah!" she jumped and backed away a bit in surprise. "Oh, Monkey, welcome back." she smiled. "How was it, exploring the city?"
"Were you here this whole time?"
"Well, of course. I was studying." she glanced at her books, her eyebrows furrowed. "Chi blocking is...more complex than I thought. But anyway, did you find any cool spots? You must tell me all about it over lunch!"
"Lunch? (Y/n), it's almost dinnertime." he nodded towards the window.
"Huh?" she looked out, seeing the sunset, and her eyes widen. "Oh!" she laughed. "I didn't even realize how much time has passed!"
"Right..." he raised an eyebrow. "Well," he took her brush from her and set it aside, then he made her stand up. "That just means you'll eat for two tonight! As in you'll eat twice the amount you normally eat!"
"H-hold on!"
Monkey watched as she quickly put page markers in all her open books before closing them, and made small notes on the side of her papers. Then she smiled at him.
"I'll get back to that later."
Monkey just hummed.
Our two protagonists went out for dinner. Because they will have to pay rent at the end of the month, they settled for very cheap takeouts. They sat together at home and he spoke of his findings throughout the day. But (Y/n) was eating really quickly.
"Woah, careful will you? You'll get sick."
She didn't respond and finished her food. Then she huffed and burped.
"Sorry." she chuckled and stood up.
"Where're you going?" he frowned. "I'm not done telling the story of the clay pots."
"I just have this one paragraph I want to get the hang of. I'm almost done with it, I'll be back as soon as I did it."
"...You promise?"
"I promise." she smiled. "I'll be right back." she then rushed to the bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Monkey sighed and finished his food. Then he waited, and waited...and he waited some more. It was getting dark outside. He clicked his tongue and went to the bedroom.
"(Y/n)! You-!" he exclaimed, but then stopped.
(Y/n)'s head was pressed on the desk. Snoring quietly. His shoulders dropped a bit and he walked up to her. He felt a little twist in his heart when he noticed how much more writing she did. It was clear she didn't just work on that paragraph. He gently lifted her head and chuckled when he saw some ink on her cheek. Putting her brush aside, he picked her up and set her on the bed, licking his thumb and brushing the ink off her face. She moaned and he chuckled before kissing her temple. Then he went to the desk. So much notes about stuff he couldn't understand, it was all theory while he's always been the 'learning on the field' type. He wanted to just push it all aside, instead he put book markers on the books and simply closed them. Giving (Y/n) one last look, he said 'goodnight' before leaving to sleep on the sofa. For a moment, he stared at the ceiling, thinking of tonight's events and of (Y/n)'s behavior.
'I have a bad feeling about this...'
.
.
The next week was pretty rough for (Y/n). Guanfu Xue was the complete opposite from the monastery, which was a second home to all its students. And it was also an all boy school, so she believed she'd be fine. But here, it was different, she felt uneasy, uncomfortable. Here, there was an air of competition between the students. The teachers were very strict, and there were so much rules. She learned about them all since she would apparently break them all the time.
"I am literally just walking!" she once shouted at a teacher (which was also against the rules).
"There is a specific trafic system here in Guanfu Xue. Students must walk on the side that is to their right, so aw to not bump into other students who walk the opposite direction."
"There is no one here!" she gestured around the empty hallway.
Thankfully, Cheng Liu came to get her out of trouble. The young scholar was her only friend here, she was glad he was here. Manshu and his friends were also a problem, they'd always pick on her for various reasons, either flirting or making fun of her. Now, she simply just ignored them, but the fact that they'd constantly look down on her really pissed her off. And they weren't the only one. Her teacher never seemed to notice her efforts. Despite the fact that she got the basics down in only a few days.
"You made an error in your combination." he said when they were practicing on mannequins. "Your patient is dead, after vomiting for an hour."
An 'eww~' resonated throughout the classroom. She scoffed as he walked away. This evaluation of his only lasted a few seconds, no feedback, no 'try again'. Nothing.
'That was a twelve pressure points! I only started learning that stuff last week! You could at least say 'good effort'!' she wanted to scream.
But she just took a deep breath, running her hands through her hair. She then checked her notes to see what the correct answer was. She frowned when she saw she only made two errors.
'Two out of twelve and all you have to say is 'you failed'?! What the he-?!' she pursued her lips and leaned back. 'Nope, not gonna let him get to me. Once the exam comes, he will see! I'll get a perfect score and he'll have to admit that I'm good!'
Meanwhile, Monkey was growing more and more concerned. (Y/n) would always come home, study, forget to eat, then study again until she falls asleep. He wanted to help of course, get her mind off things. But that really didn't go as planned...
"(Y/n)!" he busted into the bedroom (which naturally became hers) with a big smile. "Forget about all these paper," he took her hand, making her ink spill a little bit. "we're going ou-!"
"Monkey what the hell?!"
"Woah." his expression fell and he felt his heart sink at the sound of her voice.
That anger was too genuine for his comfort. She shook her hand away.
"You made me spill ink on my paper!" she gestured to the paper, it was two-thirds full of carefully written words, and there were actually readable. "Now I have to do it all over again!" she pressed her hands on her face and groaned. "It's due tomorrow too! The teacher gave it on the first week of the year but *of course* I'm only hearing about it now!"
With jolting movements, she took another piece of parchment and set it in front of her. She then took a long breath and looked back at Monkey.
"I'm sorry. Just...I have to finish this."
He wasn't mad of course. How could he be mad when he saw the exhausted look on her face.
"It's okay." he nodded before leaving the room.
Alone again, he thought for a moment. How could he help her with this whole situation...?
.
.
The next day, (Y/n) submitted her assignment and went to class. When it was over though, the teacher asked for her to see him at his office later that day. To pass the time, she studied in the school's library, which was so huge by the way. She went to the teacher's office early and patiently waited in the hallway, wondering what he wanted from her. She couldn't help but play scenarios in which he'd apologize and praise her for her progress and say that her assignment was the greatest he's ever seen in a long time. Just then, the door opened and he stepped out with Manshu.
"Sir please! This could be mean great progress for the medical field! If you could just let me-"
"This isn't progress if it goes against moral ethics." he said with the same cold voice.
"Isn't this Guanfu Xue?! This is a school for learning the unlearnable!"
"Watch your volume young man. We do not play with the forces of nature. Doing so comes at great costs. Now, dismissed."
Manshu clenched his fists.
"If you won't teach me, then I'll teach myself." and with that, he stomped away.
Although, when he noticed her, she saw his look of anger change into one of mockery. She was curious about what they were talking about, but she knew she won't get any answers out of either parties here. Just then, the teacher called her and the two of them went in his office. They both sat on either side of the desk. He didn't spoke for a few moments, he seemed to still be irritated by his meeting with Manshu. But when he finally looked at her, she realized that this irritation was towards her instead.
"When I heard of the circumstances under which you joined my class. I knew you would be one of the worst students I've ever had in my long years of teaching."
She blinked twice. That was low and out of nowhere.
"Still, you were clearly trying. Your assignment is actually readable."
She felt a spark of hope and gulped.
"Too bad it's not worth anything, since you cheated."
"Huh? Cheated?" she repeated, confused.
"Tell me why, just when you make something decent, one of the books from my personal library goes missing." he gestured to a bookshelf stacked with books, though there was a little empty space in the middle.
"S-Sir, I've never been in your office."
"Well, maybe you've sought the help of your demon acolyte. The same one you used to threaten the principal into letting you in."
How she hated the cold stare he was giving her. Monkey would look at bandits who think they can beat him the same way. She clenched her fists.
"He didn't do anything. And I didn't do anything either. I don't even know what book was stole-!"
"This book has the entirety of the class' lessons written in more simplistic ways so that anyone can understand and learn chi blocking. Obviously, being in Guanfu Xue, we do not do that sort of thing." he rolled his eyes. "But you... you'd surely, how you say, get a kick out of it."
She frowned, trying her best not to shout.
"I didn't know this book even existed. You have no proof that I-!"
"Do you have proof that you didn't?"
She pursued her lips.
"Because, it would make perfect sense if it was you. Based on record, and on this." he picked up a paper between his index and thumb. "Don't you think it's a happy coincidence that only once my book was gone, you submitted a decent assignment. And in only one day too."
"Yes! It is a coincidence, I worked so much on it I almost didn't sleep last night! I did good!"
"Threatening and stealing? You call that doing good?!"
"I didn't steal anything! Why is it so hard for you to just admit that I did something right?!" she slammed her fist on the table. "Seriously! What is your problem?!"
There was a moment of silence during which they both glared at each-other. The teacher stood up, and at this moment, (Y/n) regretted saying that.
"I do not tolerate talking to your teachers in that manner. I will ask the principal for you to be-"
"Sir? May I interrupt?"
Just as she felt her heart breaking, she looked back to see Cheng Liu step into the room.
"Cheng Liu, can't you see I'm in the middle of a meeting already?"
"I know, I heard about the missing book. I'm here in (Y/n)'s defense."
Her eyes widen as he stood beside her. The teacher raised an eyebrow, and let him speak.
"The book was stolen last night correct? Well, yesterday after class, (Y/n) asked me to help her with her assignment. So we went to the library together and she completed it there. She did not use your book, only the ones available to her."
She looked at him in awe, then at the teacher. Whose eyes were narrowed, trying to see if the young scholar was lying. Eventually, he sighed and sat back down.
"I'll have to go over the assignment again. Dismissed." he said, waving a hand.
"Wha- That's it?!" (Y/n) exclaimed in disbelief.
"Don't push your luck miss." he sent her a cold glance. "Dismissed."
She scoffed, but still left without saying more. Once in the hallway, she huffed and leaned her back against the wall.
"Are you okay?" Cheng Liu placed a hand on her shoulder with a concerned look. "Things seemed pretty heated in there."
"Yeah, good thing you came in." she put her hand on his and smiled at him. "Thank you so much. You really saved me there."
"Oh it's nothing. I know you couldn't have done it, you're not that kind of girl. As soon as I heard the rumor, I came running, I knew he'd blame you for it."
"Right... So, does everybody know?"
"Manshu made sure of that yes..." he glanced to the side and nodded.
She looked down, feeling a knot in her stomach.
"Hey," he spoke again. "ignore him. He's just a jerk."
She chuckled.
"You wanna go grab a bite to take your mind off things? My treat."
"Thanks but, right now, I just wanna go home."
"Totally understandable. Though, let me at least walk you out, in case you run into Manshu again, or one of his goons."
"...I'd appreciate it. Thank you."
.
"I'm back~." she said when she stepped in the apartment, closing the door behind her.
"Ah! (Y/n)!" Monkey rushed up to her with an excited smile. "What's up?"
"Honestly? I'm exhausted."
"Well, I got a surprise for you!"
"What is i-?"
She turned to look at him and froze. For a moment, she even forgot to breathe as she stared at this "gift" he was handing her, her eyes wide. It was a book. Titled 'The Simple Ways of Chi Blocking'.
"I figured your were sick and tired of that school and that asshole teacher." Monkey said, smiling. "So I went in his office and stole this book! The stuff in there looked so easy even I understood what it said. And I *never* bother to understand things I don't care for! That way you don't have to stay here any longer and you can learn on the road!"
"...It was you?" she looked at him, both heartbroken and enraged. "*You* stole the book?!"
"Uh, yeah." he blinked twice, taken aback.
This was not the reaction he wanted out of her.
"You... How could you?!"
"Woah, what's the problem?" he put the book aside and raised his hands.
"First of all, you stole! Which is not something you should do in general! Second, they blamed *me* for stealing it!"
"Wait, they did?"
"Yes! Of course they did, I'm like the number one scapegoat at this school ever since I got there!"
"Those pieces of..." he clenched his fists, but then frowned. "But wait, they this is good isn't it?" he gestured to the book. "You don't have to see them ever again now."
"But if I leave, they'll think of me as a cheater and a thief!"
"Why do you care so much about what they think of you? You don't even like these people!"
"You're right, I *don't* like them! And that is *exactly* why I have to show them that I can do this! To prove myself to them! Just like I have to prove myself to the people up there in Heaven that I'm not just a little human who got lucky! I'm not just Tripitaka's successor- I'm not even Golden Cicada! I'm me!"
"What are you talking about?!"
"Of course you don't know what it's like! You're Sun Wukong! You don't care what anybody thinks! You've never felt this... This pressure!"
"What pressure?!"
"The pressure of not being good enough!!!"
There was a moment of silence, Monkey was speechless. (Y/n) ran a hand through her hair and let out a long sigh.
"Just, please go put that back" she walked away with slow steps, her voice was a bit sore now. "I'll probably skip dinner, I got so busy with my assignment I couldn't study the lesson. Goodnight." she said before closing the door.
Now alone again, Monkey took a moment to process what the hell just happened. Only a few minutes ago, he was so sure she would be thankful for his help. He tried thinking of where his perfect plan went wrong.
"Not good enough...?" he mumbled to himself as he picked up the book and climbed out the window. "Where the hell does that come from? Especially from her..."
.
.
The next day, (Y/n) wanted to Guanfu Xue early so that she wouldn't have to face Monkey. Well, he beat her to it.
"Hey, you didn't even eat breakfast!"
"I don't have time for it."
"Wait!"
She opened the door and was about to run out when he suddenly jumped and landed in front of her. She yelped in surprise, almost bumping into him.
"Here." he took her hand and put an apple in it. "Eat it when you're on the carriage." he paused. "I put the book back by the way." he leaned a bit closer and spoke with a softer tone. "You know I wouldn't do anything I think would hurt you. I'm sorry I did though."
She looked at the fruit for a moment.
"...Thanks." she said before rushing past him and to the elevator.
He watched her go, and sighed. (Y/n) felt even more eyes on her and heard even more whispers around her that day at school. She still didn't feel like going home and confront Monkey though, so after class, she asked Cheng Liu if they could study and do their homework together in the library, which he happily accepted.
"I'm sorry for taking some of your time, I just have a hard time remembering the pressure points on the back." she said.
"I understand, they *are* hard. And you don't want to permanently paralyse someone."
They both chuckled. They stayed there for a few hours, fewer people were in the library by then. And when the sun started going down, they were pretty much the only ones here. Cheng Liu would force her to take regular breaks, during which they'd just chat. At some point, (Y/n) went to look for a particular book, and just then, she noticed Manshu rushing further down the library, looking over his shoulder. Suspicious, she followed him and watched from afar as he opened the door that led to the forbidden books section. She frowned, and went to stand in front of the door as soon as he went inside. A minute or so later, the door opened again and he jumped in surprise, supressing a yelp. He was in the process of putting a book in his bag.
"What do you think you're doing huh?!"
"Would you be quiet?" he rolled his eyes, playing it cool, and closed the door behind him. "This is a library."
"You picked open the door! You stole a book from there!"
"Hey, I'm nothing like you first of all. Second of all, one of my teachers asked me to give him the book." he showed her the key he used. "I have other teachers, unlike you."
"You stole the key too! Don't play dumb with me! This is about your argument with the teacher yesterday isn't it?!"
"You-!" he seemed flustered for a moment. "Listen here!"
"Manshu, you again." they both looked over to see Cheng Liu walking over. "Only you would cause a commotion like that."
"Ohoho~ I see what's going on." he smirked, nodding slowly. "A little late study-date, I see I see."
"This is not a date." (Y/n) quickly clarified. "He stole a book from the forbidden secti-"
"Wait." Cheng Liu's expression fell. "It's not?"
"What?" she blinked, confused. "N-no, it's not."
"Wwwwell!" Manshu walked away. "I'll leave you guys to it."
"Hey!" she went after him. "You come back he-!"
"Don't walk away from me!"
She gasped when Cheng Liu suddenly pulled her back to him. He looked more serious now. For a moment, (Y/n) couldn't recognize her friend. Then he let go of her arm and his expression softened.
"What do you mean this isn't a date? I thought..."
"Oh, well I don't even know what study-dates are. To me, studying is studying. Also I uh..." she glanced to the side. "I'm engaged."
"Oh." he thought for a moment. "In that case, are things okay at home? Because I honestly don't see why else you'd be flirting with me."
She frowned, leaning back.
"...Flirting? I never flirted with you."
"What are you saying? Why else would you be so nice to me?"
"Nice? I just treated you like any decent person would."
"So what? You used me so I could help you?" he frowned, getting angrier by the second. "I'm the reason you got into this school, and you thank me by *rejecting* me?!"
"Okay, I don't have time for this." she shook her head and tried to walk away.
But he grabbed her arms and pushed her against one of the bookshelves.
"Let go of me!" she struggled.
"After I got you out of trouble when you stole that stupid book?!"
"What?!"
"Yeah, everyone knows you did it! I was nice enough to be the only one on your side, and I don't even get a proper thank you?!"
"You are insane!"
"*I'm* insane?! You're the manipulative bit-!"
She hit some pressure points and punched him in the face right before he fell on the ground. She must've missed one, because he could still move his head. He glared up at her with a broken nose.
"You've really done it now. I'll tell everybody you resorted to violence!"
"You won't. I know you won't." she looked down at him with the same fiery glare. "Because then everyone will know you got beaten by *me*."
He tried to say something, but there was instead a moment of silence.
"Don't talk to me ever again. And forget about helping me." she walked away. "I'll manage without you."
"L-Like you could ever pass the exam by yourself! You're just like any other girls! You could never get through midterms! Not without help, or without cheating!"
She stopped and glared back at him.
"...We'll see about that."
.
Monkey flinched when he heard the front door slamming open. He turned around and saw (Y/n) walk in, slam the door shut, go to her room, and slam the door shut.
"...What?"
'Is she still angry at me? No, this is a whole new level. Something must've happened.'
Meanwhile, (Y/n) immediately sat at her desk and started studying where she left off. A ball of fire in her chest.
'I'll show them! I'll make them swallow their words! Just you watch! I'll prove to them that I can do it! I'll pass this stupid exam!'
Just then, something clicked in her mind. She realized: she's been so busy with learning chi blocking, has she ever found the time to learn of a way to channel her power? You know, what she came here to do in the first place, what chi blocking was supposed to be? She's been so busy being a regular student, she almost completely forgot about it.
'It's fine. That's just step two. I just have to finish this first!'
Even with this "comforting" thought, she ended up feeling even worst. Her vision became a bit more blurry. She blinked, and realized that she was crying. Not wanting to let that stop her, she wiped them off and tried to read her notes, but she couldn't. She kept crying, she couldn't concentrate. For the first time in her long journey, she wanted to drop everything and go back to her village. Because even though she would be living in this city for a month or so, it did not feel like home. She kept crying, but still tried to at least finish the sentence she was writing before leaving the library. Her hand was shaking too much to do that though. She didn't notice Monkey walking into the room, and she didn't hear him calling her name. Her shoulders were tense and she clenched her fists. Suddenly, a big cat jumped on the desk and laid down on her notes, preventing her from reading or writing.
"What the-?" she leaned back in surprise.
The cat looked at her with red eyes. She recognized them instantly and frowned.
"Monkey, what are you doing?" she tried pushing him away, but he wouldn't budge. "Come on, stop messing around." she tried again. "Come on..." her voice cracked.
She sniffed, then sobbed. The ball of anger in her chest eventually changed into a deep, sinking feeling of sorrow. As she sat there, breaking down into tears, Monkey sat up and brush his head on her cheek. She hugged him and quietly cried for a while. In this moment, all this exhaustion she ignored for the past week or so hit her like a brick. With heavy movements, and with her face buried in his fur, she picked him up, walked to the bed and let herself fall back on it. And she quickly fell asleep, crying, with Monkey in her arms. Soon after, he turned back into his true form and looked at her sleeping, gently caressing her hair. He let out a heavy sigh. It seemed this situation wasn't something Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, could easily fix with his favorite methods.
.
.
"Are you sure you don't want me to accompany you there?" he asked her the next day as they were both at the door.
She smiled faintly and shook her head.
"No, I don't want them to think they got to me in any way."
He smiled.
"I'll come back as soon as class is done."
'Wouldn't want to go back to the library anytime soon.'
"Here." he handed her an apple. "You forgot breakfast."
"Oh." she puffed a chuckle and took it. "Thanks. See you later."
They waved at each-other and she walked down the hallway. Monkey went back in and immediately pressed his ear on the door, listening closely. As soon as he heard the elevator door opening and closing, he walked back out and went to stand in front of the apartment next door. He took a deep breath, promising himself he won't get mad at whatever she says, and knocked on the door. Truth was, Wenling was also pressing her ear against her door. And she flinched when he knocked. To not seem weird, she waited a few seconds before opening. She gave Monkey a weird look.
"Do you know how to cook?" he asked before she could even say anything.
She blinked twice. This was the last thing she expected to hear from him.
"Excuse me?"
"Look, we didn't start off the right foot, mostly because of you and your prejudices. So to make it up to me, could you teach me how to cook?"
"But, why?"
"The woman I love is in a tough situation..." he looked down. "And Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, ultra super cool warrior can't fix it for her." he looked back at her with a spark of determination. "But maybe Sun Wukong, (Y/n)'s fiancé can do something about it! And though I don't eat cooked food, if it can help support her, even just a little bit, then I'm willing to learn how to cook! That is of course, *if* you know how to-."
"Young man, of course I know how to cook!"
"Great, then teach me!"
"Come on in!" she took a step to the side.
"Umm..."
He shifted his stand, uncomfortable at the idea. She listed an eyebrow.
"Or would you rather *I* go to your house?"
"Where is your kitchen?!" he stepped in.
She chuckled.
"He's way more of a softie than I thought he was." she said to herself before closing the door.